After Nepal earthquake, Delhi chalks out disaster management plan

NEW DELHI: The Delhi administration will notify the State Disaster Management Plan in six to eight weeks, chief secretary KK Sharma has said. Long pending implementation of the blueprint was expedited after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reviewed preparedness of Delhi in dealing with natural and man-made disasters.

The move followed even as various parts of the national capital continued to experience aftershocks of the Nepal earthquake. “The State Disaster Management Plan has been prepared. The chief minister has sought a report on the scope of improvement in this plan and how effective it would be in preventing disasters,” Sharma explained and said it may take between ‘six-eight weeks’ for notifying the plan.

Besides a state-wide plan, Sharma added , District Disaster Management Plans have also been prepared by three districts (New Delhi, South East & North East) and other districts are also in the process of finalizing the plan.

Seeking to assure that the administration was prepared for any eventuality, Sharma informed that 10 well-equipped Disaster Management Centres are functional in Delhi, apart from the emergency helpline number 1077.